Black & White Spider Awards 2008 Results

I did something this summer that I’ve only done once before as a professional photographer… enter a professional photography competition.

Last winter, a fellow photographer sent me a link to the Black & White Spider Awards informing me that some of the top pro photographers in the world participated and it could be a great learning opportunity. So I checked it out carefully to make sure it was serious and after seeing being blown away by the winners and nominees, I thought it would be a fun exercise to enter a few shots. It took me a few weeks to narrow my choices down to about 10 images. And I finally entered just 3.

Until this morning, I had completely forgotten about it. Then the email came to inform me that I had made it as a nominee out of thousands of entries. They didn’t specify which image had made it so it was a bit of a treasure hunt to find it! 🙂 And what did I find… 2 of my images got nominated! I feel very honored that judges from PDN, the Tate Gallery, PhotoLife Magazine and many others found my images worthy of a nomination. Here they are:

I invite you to browse through the winners and nominees and get inspired by their outstanding work! I spent a few hours gawking at the amazing images. I even checked out a few of the photographers’ Websites for more inspiration.

If you’re contemplating entering the 2009 Black and White Spider Awards as an amateur or professional, here’s a post from Digital Photography School called “How to Win a Photography Competition” that can be a good starting point. To get warmed up, you can even enter weekly competitions at DPChallenge.com (free to join).

Check out next week’s Photoshop video tutorial on the different ways to convert your images to black and white.

Thank you for your comment. The best way to improve your photography is to keep learning from sites like Yanik’s Photo School but most important, follow the 3 Ps of photography: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. 🙂

Hi,
I have been admiring your work for a while now and was really impressed. I was wondering if you could take the time to glance over my blog and tell me how I could improve my work?
Thank you and God Bless,
Ainsley
p.s. my blog is:http://ainsleypthomas.blogspot.com/

I’ve just had a look, and you’re right, the photos from the competition are amazing! I’m quite blown away by some of them, and very inspired to keep learning. Of your two, I’m in love with the bird man! I’m sure you’ve had the thought yourself, but he looks like Einstein 😉 What a delightful expression on his face…. you’ve done well.